Improve speed of the mobile experience

Speed is integral to improving the mobile user experience. People count on fast, reliable information delivered to their mobile devices, but Web browsing and SMS-based services are vulnerable to delays caused by the platform's limited bandwidth. Recurring problems that stretch the time it takes to receive an SMS message, load a mobile Web page or log in to a user account won't be good for business. Here are four factors to consider for improving the performance of the mobile user experience and solving some of the most common problems.

Be selective when choosing images. A mobile website that is image-heavy can eat a lot of bandwidth, slowing down load times. While images provide a more enjoyable experience, using too many can frustrate users. Decreasing image size and quality for the mobile channel might also be necessary and advisable.

Avoid redirects whenever possible. Load times can be slower when users type in a URL, but are redirected to another site. When that has to be communicated back and forth with your handset, redirects can sometimes go three or four levels deep, and that can take 10 to 15 seconds each time.

Make sure all servers are running efficiently. Delivering a mobile website's content from several servers does not necessarily slow loading times. However, if one of those servers is overwhelmed for any reason, it can prevent a quick load and degrade the experience. Marketers might also consider relying on third-party mobile accelerator services, such as Akamai, to get content geographically closer to visitors to quicken load times.

Explore options when selecting mobile partners. Marketers often use SMS aggregators who deal in bulk messaging to send and receive messages. These companies can experience slower processing and response times, just as any servers do. Marketers should be sure to establish a level of expectations and requirements for performance.

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